JOHANNESBURG - Global pharmaceutical company Mylan on Tuesday announced the acquisition of a manufacturing site, previously owned by Ascendis Health, for its plans to produce high-quality antiretrovirals for seven million South Africans living with HIV.

Spread over an expanse of 2.34 hectares, the facility at Isando in Johannesburg has the capacity to produce regular pills, effervescent tablets, semi solid and hard gelatin capsules.

Mylan said it had committed significant investment to acquire the facility, which would create job opportunities for the local population.

It said it would create a state-of-the-art manufacturing center for antiretrovirals and upskill the local team to global standards.

Mylan president Rajiv Malik said the company's global HIV initiative was one of its key priorities, representing a continued commitment to give patients in low- and middle-income countries with access to medicines.

"Mylan's innovations have helped fuel a steep decline in ARV drug costs over the last decade, and the integration of the Isando site into our global manufacturing network will help us to meet unmet patient needs in South Africa," Malik said.

"Mylan has invested significantly in its scientific platform and created broad capacity for global ARV supply. With our scale, excellent formulation chemistry skills, process optimization and cutting-edge quality systems, Mylan is committed to continue setting new standards in healthcare the world over."

Mylan supplies ARV drugs to more than 100 countries around the world. The company is among the largest suppliers of ARV medicines in South Africa both in the private and public sectors.